WEBVTT 1 00:00:01.439 --> 00:00:05.759 This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in 2 00:00:05.879 --> 00:00:10.160 the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please 3 00:00:10.240 --> 00:00:17.760 visit LibriVox dot org. This recording by Zachary Brewster Geiss, Greenbelt, Maryland, 4 00:00:17.920 --> 00:00:23.440 January two thousand seven. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by 5 00:00:23.480 --> 00:00:29.160 Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Adventure four the Boscombe Valley Mystery. 6 00:00:31.960 --> 00:00:34.240 We were seated at breakfast one morning, my wife and 7 00:00:34.280 --> 00:00:37.439 I when the maid brought in a telegram. It was 8 00:00:37.479 --> 00:00:40.759 from Sherlock Holmes and ran in this way, have you 9 00:00:40.799 --> 00:00:43.320 a couple of days to spare? Have just been wired 10 00:00:43.359 --> 00:00:46.359 for from the west of England in connection with Boscombe 11 00:00:46.399 --> 00:00:49.079 Valley tragedy. Shall be glad if you will come with 12 00:00:49.159 --> 00:00:53.200 me er in scenery perfect leave Paddington by the eleven fifteen. 13 00:00:55.439 --> 00:00:58.439 What do you say, dear, said my wife, looking across 14 00:00:58.479 --> 00:01:02.719 at me. Will you go? I really don't know what 15 00:01:02.920 --> 00:01:05.560 to say. I have a fairly long list at present. 16 00:01:06.640 --> 00:01:09.680 Oh Ann Struther, would do your work afore you. You 17 00:01:09.760 --> 00:01:12.120 have been looking a little pale lately. I think that 18 00:01:12.200 --> 00:01:14.959 the change would do you good. And you are always 19 00:01:15.000 --> 00:01:19.239 so interested in mister Sherlock Holmes's cases, I should be 20 00:01:19.359 --> 00:01:22.040 ungrateful if I were not seeing what I gained through 21 00:01:22.079 --> 00:01:25.200 one of them, I answered, But if I am to go, 22 00:01:25.519 --> 00:01:27.840 I must pack at once, for I have only half 23 00:01:27.879 --> 00:01:32.359 an hour. My experience of camp life in Afghanistan had 24 00:01:32.560 --> 00:01:35.120 at least had the effect of making me a prompt 25 00:01:35.120 --> 00:01:39.040 and ready traveler. My wants were few and simple, so 26 00:01:39.120 --> 00:01:41.319 that in less than the time stated, I was in 27 00:01:41.400 --> 00:01:45.079 a cab with my valise, rattling away to Pattinson Station. 28 00:01:46.120 --> 00:01:49.040 Sherlock Holmes was pacing up and down the platform, his tall, 29 00:01:49.079 --> 00:01:52.280 gaunt figure made even gaunter and taller by his long 30 00:01:52.319 --> 00:01:56.920 gray traveling cloak and close fitting cloth cap. It is 31 00:01:57.040 --> 00:01:59.359 really very good of you to come, Watson, said he. 32 00:01:59.760 --> 00:02:02.519 It makes a considerable difference to me having someone with 33 00:02:02.599 --> 00:02:06.120 me on whom I can thoroughly rely. Local aid is 34 00:02:06.239 --> 00:02:09.520 always either worthless or else biased. If you will keep 35 00:02:09.560 --> 00:02:13.439 the two corner seats, I shall get the tickets. We 36 00:02:13.479 --> 00:02:16.000 had the carriage to ourselves, say for an immense litter 37 00:02:16.039 --> 00:02:18.840 of papers, which Holmes had brought with him. Among these 38 00:02:18.879 --> 00:02:21.639 he rummaged and read, with intervals of note taking and 39 00:02:21.719 --> 00:02:25.240 of meditation, until we were past reading. Then he suddenly 40 00:02:25.280 --> 00:02:27.560 rolled them all into a gigantic ball and tossed them 41 00:02:27.639 --> 00:02:31.000 up onto the rack. Have you heard anything of the case, 42 00:02:31.159 --> 00:02:33.879 he asked, not a word. I have not seen a 43 00:02:33.919 --> 00:02:37.919 paper for some days. The London press has not had 44 00:02:38.159 --> 00:02:41.000 very full accounts. I have just been looking through all 45 00:02:41.039 --> 00:02:43.879 the recent papers in order to master the particular. It seems, 46 00:02:43.879 --> 00:02:45.879 from what I gather, to be one of those simple 47 00:02:45.960 --> 00:02:51.199 cases which are so extremely difficult. That sounds little paradoxical, 48 00:02:52.120 --> 00:02:56.599 but it is profoundly true. Singularity is almost invariably a clue. 49 00:02:57.000 --> 00:02:59.360 The more featureless and commonplace a crime is, the more 50 00:02:59.400 --> 00:03:02.120 difficult today to bring it home. In this case, however, 51 00:03:02.120 --> 00:03:05.319 they have established a very serious case against the son 52 00:03:05.400 --> 00:03:10.000 of the murdered man. It is a murder, then, well 53 00:03:10.039 --> 00:03:12.319 it is conjectured to be so. I shall take nothing 54 00:03:12.319 --> 00:03:15.159 for granted until I have the opportunity of looking personally 55 00:03:15.240 --> 00:03:18.080 into it. I will explain the state of things to 56 00:03:18.120 --> 00:03:20.120 you as far as I have been able to understand it, 57 00:03:20.199 --> 00:03:24.199 in a very few words. Boscombe Valley is a country 58 00:03:24.280 --> 00:03:28.439 district not very far from ross and Herefordshire. The largest 59 00:03:28.520 --> 00:03:31.680 landed proprietor in that part is a mister John Turner, 60 00:03:32.080 --> 00:03:35.439 who made his money in Australia, and returned some years 61 00:03:35.479 --> 00:03:38.639 ago to the old country. One of the farms which 62 00:03:38.680 --> 00:03:42.400 he held, that of Heatherley, was lent to mister Charles McCarthy, 63 00:03:42.719 --> 00:03:46.439 who was also an ex Australian. The men had known 64 00:03:46.479 --> 00:03:48.520 each other in the colonies, so that it was not 65 00:03:48.639 --> 00:03:51.479 unnatural that when they came to settle down, that they 66 00:03:51.479 --> 00:03:54.759 should do so as near each other as possible. Turner 67 00:03:54.800 --> 00:03:57.879 was apparently the richer man, so McCarthy became his tenant, 68 00:03:57.919 --> 00:04:01.599 but still remained, it seems, upon terms of perfect equality, 69 00:04:01.879 --> 00:04:05.599 as they were frequently together. McCarthy had one son, a 70 00:04:05.680 --> 00:04:08.199 lad of eighteen, and Turner had an only daughter of 71 00:04:08.240 --> 00:04:10.680 the same age, but neither of them had wives living. 72 00:04:11.439 --> 00:04:13.919 They appear to have avoided the society of the neighboring 73 00:04:13.960 --> 00:04:17.319 English families, and to have led retired lives, though both 74 00:04:17.360 --> 00:04:20.040 the McCarthys were fond of sport and were frequently seen 75 00:04:20.079 --> 00:04:24.240 at the race meetings of the neighborhood. McCarthy kept two servants, 76 00:04:24.279 --> 00:04:27.800 a man and a girl. Turner had a considerable household, 77 00:04:27.839 --> 00:04:30.759 some half dozen at the least. That is as much 78 00:04:30.800 --> 00:04:32.839 as I have been able to gather about the families. 79 00:04:33.600 --> 00:04:37.600 Now for the facts. On June third, that is Monday last, 80 00:04:37.920 --> 00:04:40.720 McCarthy left his house at Hatherley about three in the 81 00:04:40.759 --> 00:04:44.079 afternoon and walked down to the Boscombe Pool, which is 82 00:04:44.120 --> 00:04:46.279 a small lake formed by the spreading out of the 83 00:04:46.319 --> 00:04:49.720 stream which runs down the Boscombe Valley. He had been 84 00:04:49.759 --> 00:04:52.000 out with his serving man in the morning at ross 85 00:04:52.399 --> 00:04:54.519 and he had told the man that he must hurry 86 00:04:54.560 --> 00:04:57.240 as he had an appointment of importance to keep it free. 87 00:04:58.000 --> 00:05:02.040 From that appointment, he never came back alive life. From 88 00:05:02.040 --> 00:05:04.639 Hatherley Farmhouse to the Boscombe Pool as a quarter of 89 00:05:04.680 --> 00:05:07.160 a mile, and two people saw him as he passed 90 00:05:07.160 --> 00:05:10.600 over this ground. One was an old woman whose name 91 00:05:10.720 --> 00:05:13.800 is not mentioned, and the other was William Crowder, a 92 00:05:13.920 --> 00:05:17.279 game keeper and the employ of mister Turner. Both these 93 00:05:17.319 --> 00:05:21.480 witnesses deposed that mister McCarthy was walking alone. The gamekeeper 94 00:05:21.519 --> 00:05:23.800 adds that within a few minutes of his seeing mister 95 00:05:23.879 --> 00:05:27.920 McCarthy pass he had seen his son, mister James McCarthy, 96 00:05:28.279 --> 00:05:31.000 going the same way with a gun under his arm. 97 00:05:31.240 --> 00:05:33.639 To the best of his belief, the father was actually 98 00:05:33.680 --> 00:05:35.920 in sight at the time and the son was following him. 99 00:05:36.399 --> 00:05:38.360 He thought no more of the matter until he heard 100 00:05:38.360 --> 00:05:42.279 in the evening of the tragedy that had occurred. The 101 00:05:42.319 --> 00:05:45.079 two McCarthys were seen after the time when William Crowder, 102 00:05:45.120 --> 00:05:48.279 the gamekeeper, lost sight of them. The Boscombe Pool is 103 00:05:48.399 --> 00:05:51.160 thickly wooded round, with just a fringe of grass and 104 00:05:51.240 --> 00:05:55.040 of reeds round the edge. A girl of fourteen, Patience Moran, 105 00:05:55.360 --> 00:05:57.120 who is the daughter of the lodge keeper of the 106 00:05:57.120 --> 00:06:00.800 Boscombe Valley estate, was in one of the woods making flowers. 107 00:06:01.399 --> 00:06:03.879 She states that while she was there, she saw at 108 00:06:03.879 --> 00:06:06.160 the border of the wooden close by the lake, mister 109 00:06:06.240 --> 00:06:08.839 McCarthy and his son, and that they appeared to be 110 00:06:08.879 --> 00:06:12.839 having a violent quarrel. She heard mister McCarthy the elder, 111 00:06:13.000 --> 00:06:16.199 using very strong language to his son, and she saw 112 00:06:16.240 --> 00:06:18.319 the latter raise up his hand as if to strike 113 00:06:18.360 --> 00:06:21.399 his father. She was so frightened by their violence that 114 00:06:21.439 --> 00:06:24.000 she ran away and told her mother when she reached home, 115 00:06:24.040 --> 00:06:27.399 that she had left the two McCarthy's quarreling near Boscombe Pool, 116 00:06:28.000 --> 00:06:29.920 and that she was afraid that they were going to fight. 117 00:06:31.240 --> 00:06:33.720 She had hardly said the words when young mister McCarthy 118 00:06:33.759 --> 00:06:35.519 came running up to the lodge to say that he 119 00:06:35.560 --> 00:06:38.120 had found his father dead in the wood and to 120 00:06:38.160 --> 00:06:40.480 ask for the help of the lodge keeper. He was 121 00:06:40.600 --> 00:06:43.720 much excited without either his gun or his hat, and 122 00:06:43.800 --> 00:06:46.480 his right hand and sleeve were observed to be stained 123 00:06:46.519 --> 00:06:50.079 with fresh blood. On following him, they found the dead 124 00:06:50.079 --> 00:06:53.079 body stretched out upon the grasp side the pool. The 125 00:06:53.160 --> 00:06:55.560 head had been beaten in by repeated blows of some 126 00:06:55.680 --> 00:06:58.879 heavy and blunt weapon. The injuries were such as might 127 00:06:59.040 --> 00:07:01.000 very well have been in flick by the butt end 128 00:07:01.040 --> 00:07:03.839 of his son's gun, which was found lying on the 129 00:07:03.879 --> 00:07:08.120 grass within a few paces of the body. Under these circumstances, 130 00:07:08.120 --> 00:07:11.000 the young man was instantly arrested, and a verdict of 131 00:07:11.199 --> 00:07:14.680 wilful murder having been returned at the inquest on Tuesday, 132 00:07:14.959 --> 00:07:17.720 he was on Wednesday brought before the Magistrates at Ross, 133 00:07:17.959 --> 00:07:21.639 who have referred the case to the next sizes. Those 134 00:07:21.680 --> 00:07:23.920 are the main facts of the case as they came 135 00:07:23.920 --> 00:07:27.480 out before the coroner and the police court. I could 136 00:07:27.519 --> 00:07:30.959 hardly imagine a more damning case, I remarked, If ever 137 00:07:31.199 --> 00:07:34.680 circumstantial evidence pointed to a criminal, it does so here. 138 00:07:36.720 --> 00:07:41.600 Circumstantial evidence is a very tricky thing, answered Holmes thoughtfully. 139 00:07:42.439 --> 00:07:45.319 It may seem to point very straight to one thing, 140 00:07:45.439 --> 00:07:48.560 but if you shift your own point of view a little, 141 00:07:49.079 --> 00:07:51.920 you may find it pointing in an equally uncompromising manner 142 00:07:51.959 --> 00:07:56.639 to something entirely different. It must be confess, however, that 143 00:07:56.720 --> 00:07:59.800 the case looks exceedingly grave against the young man, a 144 00:08:00.279 --> 00:08:03.639 very possible that he is indeed the culbrit. There are 145 00:08:03.680 --> 00:08:07.319 several people in the neighborhood, however, and among them Miss Turner, 146 00:08:07.399 --> 00:08:11.439 the daughter of the neighboring landowner, who believe in his innocence, 147 00:08:11.800 --> 00:08:15.040 and who have retained Lestrade, whom you may recollect in 148 00:08:15.079 --> 00:08:18.120 connection with the study in Scarlet, to work out the 149 00:08:18.199 --> 00:08:22.040 case in his interest. The Strade, being rather puzzled, has 150 00:08:22.079 --> 00:08:24.680 referred the case to me, and hence it is that 151 00:08:24.759 --> 00:08:28.040 two middle aged gentlemen are flying westward at fifty miles 152 00:08:28.079 --> 00:08:31.560 an hour instead of quietly digesting their breakfasts at home. 153 00:08:33.399 --> 00:08:36.399 I am afraid, said I, that the facts are so 154 00:08:36.639 --> 00:08:39.000 obvious that you will find little credit to be gained 155 00:08:39.039 --> 00:08:43.320 out of this case. There is nothing more deceptive than 156 00:08:43.360 --> 00:08:47.360 an obvious fact, he answered, laughing. Besides, we may chance 157 00:08:47.399 --> 00:08:50.720 to hit upon some other obvious facts which may have 158 00:08:50.799 --> 00:08:54.399 been by no means obvious to mister Lestrade. You know 159 00:08:54.519 --> 00:08:56.600 me too well to think that I am boasting when 160 00:08:56.639 --> 00:08:59.360 I say that I shall either confirm or destroy his 161 00:08:59.480 --> 00:09:03.080 theory by means which he is quite incapable of employing, 162 00:09:03.399 --> 00:09:06.960 or even of understanding. To take the first example to hand, 163 00:09:07.000 --> 00:09:10.159 I very clearly perceive that in your bedroom the window 164 00:09:10.279 --> 00:09:13.000 is upon the right hand side. And yet I question 165 00:09:13.080 --> 00:09:16.240 whether Miss Lestrade would have noticed even so self evident 166 00:09:16.279 --> 00:09:21.159 a thing as that. How on earth, my dear fellow, 167 00:09:21.159 --> 00:09:23.960 I know you well, I know the military neatness which 168 00:09:24.080 --> 00:09:28.399 characterizes you. You shave every morning, and in this season 169 00:09:28.440 --> 00:09:31.279 you shave by the sunlight. But since your shaving is 170 00:09:31.360 --> 00:09:33.759 less and less complete as we get farther back on 171 00:09:33.759 --> 00:09:37.159 the left side, and till it becomes positively slovenly as 172 00:09:37.159 --> 00:09:39.759 we get round the angle of the jaw, it is 173 00:09:39.799 --> 00:09:43.080 surely very clear that that side is less illuminated than 174 00:09:43.080 --> 00:09:45.519 the other. I could not imagine a man of your 175 00:09:45.600 --> 00:09:48.000 habits looking at himself in an equal light and being 176 00:09:48.039 --> 00:09:51.120 satisfied with such a result. I only quote this as 177 00:09:51.159 --> 00:09:55.360 a trivial example of observation and inference. Therein lies my metier, 178 00:09:55.919 --> 00:09:58.080 and it is just possible that it may be of 179 00:09:58.120 --> 00:10:01.440 some service in the investigation which life before us There 180 00:10:01.480 --> 00:10:03.600 are one or two minor points which are brought out 181 00:10:03.600 --> 00:10:08.080 in the inquest in which are worth considering. What are they? 182 00:10:08.600 --> 00:10:12.039 It appears that his arrest did not take place at once, 183 00:10:12.120 --> 00:10:15.440 but after the return to Hatherley Farm. On the Inspector 184 00:10:15.440 --> 00:10:18.279 of Constabulary informing him that he was a prisoner, he 185 00:10:18.320 --> 00:10:20.639 remarked that he was not surprised to hear it, and 186 00:10:20.679 --> 00:10:24.120 that it was no more than his deserts. This observation 187 00:10:24.240 --> 00:10:27.039 of his had the natural effect of removing any traces 188 00:10:27.039 --> 00:10:29.519 of doubt which might have remained in the minds of 189 00:10:29.600 --> 00:10:34.360 the coroner's jury. It was a confession I ejaculated no, 190 00:10:35.000 --> 00:10:38.919 for it was followed by a protestation of innostance. Coming 191 00:10:38.960 --> 00:10:41.360 on top of such a damning series of events, It 192 00:10:41.559 --> 00:10:46.159 was at the least a most suspicious remark. On the contrary, 193 00:10:46.320 --> 00:10:48.799 said Holmes, it is the brightest rift which I can 194 00:10:48.840 --> 00:10:52.240 at present see in the clouds. However innocent he might be, 195 00:10:52.600 --> 00:10:55.440 he could not be such an absolute imbecile as not 196 00:10:55.559 --> 00:10:58.559 to see that the circumstances were very black against him. 197 00:10:59.159 --> 00:11:01.519 Had he appeared supp prized at his own arrest, or 198 00:11:01.679 --> 00:11:04.679 feigned indignation at it, I should have looked upon it 199 00:11:05.039 --> 00:11:08.519 as highly suspicious, because such surprise or anger would not 200 00:11:08.600 --> 00:11:11.919 be natural under the circumstances, and yet might appear to 201 00:11:11.960 --> 00:11:15.440 be the best policy to a scheming man. His frank 202 00:11:15.639 --> 00:11:19.080 acceptance of the situation marks him as either an innocant man, 203 00:11:19.360 --> 00:11:22.480 or else as a man of considerable self restraint and firmness. 204 00:11:23.240 --> 00:11:25.639 As to his remark about his deserts, it was also 205 00:11:25.720 --> 00:11:28.000 not unnatural for you consider that he stood beside the 206 00:11:28.000 --> 00:11:31.000 dead body of his father, and that there is no 207 00:11:31.039 --> 00:11:33.600 doubt that he had that very day so far forgotten 208 00:11:33.600 --> 00:11:36.200 his filial duty as to bandy words with him, and 209 00:11:36.320 --> 00:11:39.679 even according to the little girl, whose evidence is so important, 210 00:11:40.080 --> 00:11:43.120 to raise his hand as if to strike him. The 211 00:11:43.159 --> 00:11:46.000 self reproach and contrition which are displayed in his remark 212 00:11:46.000 --> 00:11:48.559 appear to me to be the signs of a healthy mind, 213 00:11:48.720 --> 00:11:53.320 rather than of a guilty one. I shook my head. 214 00:11:54.320 --> 00:11:58.559 Many men have been hanged on far slighter evidence, I remarked, 215 00:11:59.320 --> 00:12:05.480 So they, and many men have been wrongfully hanged. What 216 00:12:05.600 --> 00:12:09.480 is the young man's own account of the matter. It is, 217 00:12:09.639 --> 00:12:12.279 I am afraid, not very encouraging to his support, As 218 00:12:12.279 --> 00:12:14.360 though there are one or two points in it which 219 00:12:14.360 --> 00:12:17.159 are suggestive you will find it here and may read 220 00:12:17.159 --> 00:12:21.519 it for yourself. He picked out from his bundle a 221 00:12:21.559 --> 00:12:24.720 copy of the local Herefordshire paper, and having turned down 222 00:12:24.759 --> 00:12:26.960 the sheet, he pointed out the paragraph in which the 223 00:12:27.039 --> 00:12:29.840 unfortunate young man had given his own statement of what 224 00:12:29.919 --> 00:12:32.840 had occurred. I settled myself down in the corner of 225 00:12:32.840 --> 00:12:35.919 the carriage and read it very carefully. It ran in 226 00:12:36.039 --> 00:12:40.919 this way. Mister James McCarthy, the only son of the deceased, 227 00:12:41.159 --> 00:12:45.240 was then called and gave evidence as follows. I had 228 00:12:45.240 --> 00:12:47.919 been away from home for three days at Bristol, and 229 00:12:47.960 --> 00:12:50.559 had only just returned upon the morning of last Monday 230 00:12:50.600 --> 00:12:53.159 the third. My father was absent from home at the 231 00:12:53.159 --> 00:12:55.480 time of my arrival, and I was informed by the 232 00:12:55.519 --> 00:12:57.960 maid that he had driven over to Ross with John Cobb, 233 00:12:58.039 --> 00:13:01.200 the groom. Shortly after my return, I heard the wheels 234 00:13:01.240 --> 00:13:03.320 of his trap in the yard, and looking out of 235 00:13:03.399 --> 00:13:06.320 my window, I saw him get out and walk rapidly 236 00:13:06.399 --> 00:13:08.559 out of the yard, though I was not aware in 237 00:13:08.600 --> 00:13:11.720 which direction he was going. I then took my gun 238 00:13:11.720 --> 00:13:14.159 and strolled out in the direction of the Boscombe Pool, 239 00:13:14.240 --> 00:13:16.639 with the intention of visiting the rabbit warren, which is 240 00:13:16.720 --> 00:13:20.360 upon the other side. On my way. I saw William Crowder, 241 00:13:20.399 --> 00:13:23.519 the gamekeeper, as he had stated in his evidence, but 242 00:13:23.600 --> 00:13:26.639 he is mistaken in thinking that I was following my father. 243 00:13:27.399 --> 00:13:29.240 I had no idea that he was in front of me. 244 00:13:30.159 --> 00:13:32.000 When about a hundred yards from the pool, I heard 245 00:13:32.000 --> 00:13:35.759 a cry of cooie, which is an unusual signal between 246 00:13:35.759 --> 00:13:39.799 my father and myself. I then hurried forward and found 247 00:13:39.879 --> 00:13:43.039 him standing by the pool. He appeared to be much 248 00:13:43.080 --> 00:13:45.799 surprised at seeing me, and asked me rather roughly what 249 00:13:45.840 --> 00:13:49.600 I was doing there. A conversation ensued which led to 250 00:13:49.679 --> 00:13:52.039 high words and almost blows. For my father was a 251 00:13:52.039 --> 00:13:55.919 man of a very violent temper. Seeing that his passion 252 00:13:55.960 --> 00:13:59.679 was becoming ungovernable, I left him in returned towards Hatherly Farm. 253 00:14:00.519 --> 00:14:03.120 I had not gone more than one hundred fifty yards, however, 254 00:14:03.279 --> 00:14:06.000 when I heard a hideous outcry behind me, which caused 255 00:14:06.000 --> 00:14:08.759 me to run back again. I found my father expiring 256 00:14:08.840 --> 00:14:12.519 upon the ground, with his head terribly injured. I dropped 257 00:14:12.519 --> 00:14:14.919 my gun and held him in my arms, but he 258 00:14:14.919 --> 00:14:19.080 almost instantly expired. I knelt beside him for some minutes, 259 00:14:19.120 --> 00:14:21.600 and then made my way to mister Turner's lodge keeper, 260 00:14:21.639 --> 00:14:24.759 his house being the nearest to ask for assistance. I 261 00:14:24.799 --> 00:14:26.840 saw no one near my father when I returned, and 262 00:14:26.879 --> 00:14:29.200 I have no idea how he came by his injuries. 263 00:14:29.720 --> 00:14:33.000 He was not a popular man, being somewhat cold and 264 00:14:33.039 --> 00:14:35.759 forbidding in his manners, but he had, as far as 265 00:14:35.759 --> 00:14:39.120 I know, no active enemies. I know nothing further of 266 00:14:39.200 --> 00:14:43.720 the matter. The coroner. Did your father make any statement 267 00:14:43.759 --> 00:14:47.799 to you before he died? Witness? He mumbled a few words, 268 00:14:47.799 --> 00:14:50.600 but I could only catch some allusion to a rat. 269 00:14:51.000 --> 00:14:55.639 The Coroner, What did you understand by that? Witness? It 270 00:14:55.720 --> 00:14:59.080 conveyed no meaning to me. I thought that he was delirious. 271 00:14:59.559 --> 00:15:02.559 The corner. What was the point upon which in your 272 00:15:02.559 --> 00:15:07.200 father had this final quarrel? Witness, I should prefer not 273 00:15:07.279 --> 00:15:10.919 to answer, the Coroner. I am afraid that I must 274 00:15:11.000 --> 00:15:15.120 press it, Witness, it is really impossible for me to 275 00:15:15.200 --> 00:15:17.440 tell you. I can assure you that it has nothing 276 00:15:17.480 --> 00:15:20.639 to do with the sad tragedy which followed. The Coroner. 277 00:15:21.159 --> 00:15:23.519 That is for the court to decide. I need not 278 00:15:23.639 --> 00:15:26.080 point out to you that your refusal to answer will 279 00:15:26.120 --> 00:15:31.519 prejudice your case considerably in any future proceedings which may arise, Witness. 280 00:15:32.240 --> 00:15:36.759 I still must refuse the coroner. I understand that the 281 00:15:36.799 --> 00:15:40.159 cry of Kui was a common signal between you and 282 00:15:40.240 --> 00:15:45.399 your father. Witness it was the coroner. How was it, then, 283 00:15:45.440 --> 00:15:47.600 that he uttered it before he saw you, and before 284 00:15:47.639 --> 00:15:51.519 he even knew that you would return from Bristol? Witness 285 00:15:51.720 --> 00:15:57.360 with considerable confusion. I do not know, a juryman. Did 286 00:15:57.360 --> 00:16:00.159 you see nothing which aroused your suspicions when you return 287 00:16:00.039 --> 00:16:02.600 and on hearing the cry and found your father fatally injured? 288 00:16:03.200 --> 00:16:09.120 Witness nothing definite, the coroner. What do you mean, Witness. 289 00:16:10.080 --> 00:16:12.399 I was so disturbed and excited as I rushed out 290 00:16:12.440 --> 00:16:14.519 into the open that I could think of nothing except 291 00:16:14.519 --> 00:16:18.080 my father. Yes, I have a vague impression that as 292 00:16:18.120 --> 00:16:21.320 I ran forward, something lay upon the ground to the 293 00:16:21.360 --> 00:16:24.080 left of me. It seemed to be something gray in color, 294 00:16:24.159 --> 00:16:27.399 a coat of some sort, or a plaid perhaps. When 295 00:16:27.440 --> 00:16:29.600 I rose from my father, I looked round for it, 296 00:16:29.639 --> 00:16:32.840 but it was gone. Do you mean that it had 297 00:16:32.879 --> 00:16:36.039 disappeared before you went to help? Yes, it was gone. 298 00:16:36.480 --> 00:16:39.360 You cannot say what it was. No, I had a 299 00:16:39.399 --> 00:16:43.200 feeling something was there, how far from the body a 300 00:16:43.200 --> 00:16:46.000 dozen yards or so, and how far from the edge 301 00:16:46.000 --> 00:16:49.759 of the wood about the same. Then if it was removed, 302 00:16:50.159 --> 00:16:53.279 it was while you were within a dozen yards of it, Yes, 303 00:16:53.639 --> 00:16:57.879 but with my back towards it. This concluded the examination 304 00:16:58.039 --> 00:17:02.399 of the witness. I see, said I as I glanced 305 00:17:02.440 --> 00:17:05.759 down the column, that the coroner, in his concluding remarks, 306 00:17:05.920 --> 00:17:09.359 was rather severe upon young McCarthy. He calls attention and 307 00:17:09.519 --> 00:17:12.519 with reason to the discrepancy about his father having signaled 308 00:17:12.559 --> 00:17:15.319 to him before seeing him, and also to his refusal 309 00:17:15.359 --> 00:17:18.039 to give details of his conversation with his father, and 310 00:17:18.240 --> 00:17:21.160 his singular account of his father's dying words. They are all, 311 00:17:21.519 --> 00:17:26.160 as he remarks, very much against the son. Holmes laughed 312 00:17:26.160 --> 00:17:29.559 softly to himself and stretched himself out upon the cushioned seat. 313 00:17:30.759 --> 00:17:33.240 Both you and the coronor have been at some pains, 314 00:17:33.519 --> 00:17:36.359 said he to single out the very strongest points in 315 00:17:36.400 --> 00:17:39.720 the young man's favor. Don't you see that you alternately 316 00:17:39.759 --> 00:17:42.240 give him credit for having too much imagination and too 317 00:17:42.319 --> 00:17:45.319 little too little if he could not invent a cause 318 00:17:45.359 --> 00:17:48.119 of quarrel which would give him the sympathy of the jury, 319 00:17:48.559 --> 00:17:51.680 too much, if he evolved from his own inner consciousness 320 00:17:51.799 --> 00:17:55.039 anything so utrey as a dying reference to a rat, 321 00:17:55.559 --> 00:17:59.000 and the incident of the vanishing cloth. No, sir, I 322 00:17:59.079 --> 00:18:01.480 shall approach this case from the point of view that 323 00:18:01.519 --> 00:18:04.000 what this young man says is true, and we shall 324 00:18:04.039 --> 00:18:08.039 see whither that hypothesis will lead us. And now here 325 00:18:08.079 --> 00:18:10.720 is my pocket, Petrarch, And not another word shall I 326 00:18:10.759 --> 00:18:12.799 say of this case until we are on the scene 327 00:18:12.839 --> 00:18:16.079 of action. We lunch at Swindon, and I see that 328 00:18:16.160 --> 00:18:20.359 we shall be there in twenty minutes. It was nearly 329 00:18:20.400 --> 00:18:23.480 four o'clock when we, at last, after passing through the 330 00:18:23.519 --> 00:18:27.720 beautiful Stroud Valley and over the broad gleaming Severn, found 331 00:18:27.759 --> 00:18:30.960 ourselves at the pretty little country town of Ross. A 332 00:18:31.079 --> 00:18:34.240 lean ferret like man, furtive and sly looking, was waiting 333 00:18:34.279 --> 00:18:36.839 for us upon the platform. In spite of the light 334 00:18:36.920 --> 00:18:39.880 brown dustcoat and leather leggings which he wore in deference 335 00:18:39.880 --> 00:18:43.519 to his rustic surroundings, I had no difficulty in recognizing 336 00:18:43.599 --> 00:18:46.799 Lestrade of Scotland. Yard. With him, we drove to the 337 00:18:46.839 --> 00:18:50.519 Hereford Arms, where room had already been engaged for us. 338 00:18:51.400 --> 00:18:54.079 I have ordered a carriage, said Lestrade, as we sat 339 00:18:54.119 --> 00:18:57.079 over a cup of tea. I knew your energetic nature 340 00:18:57.119 --> 00:18:58.880 and that you would not be happy until you had 341 00:18:58.880 --> 00:19:01.880 been on the scene of the crime. It was very 342 00:19:01.960 --> 00:19:05.960 nice and complimentary of you, Holmes answered, it is entirely 343 00:19:06.039 --> 00:19:10.720 a question of barometric pressure. Lestrade looked startled. I do 344 00:19:10.839 --> 00:19:15.039 not quite follow, he said, how is the glass twenty nine? 345 00:19:15.079 --> 00:19:17.920 I see no wind and not a cloud in the sky. 346 00:19:18.680 --> 00:19:21.200 I have a case full of cigarettes here which needs smoking, 347 00:19:21.279 --> 00:19:24.240 and sofa is very much superior to the usual country 348 00:19:24.240 --> 00:19:27.599 hotel abomination. I do not think that it is probable 349 00:19:27.640 --> 00:19:32.319 that I shall use the carriage to night. Lustrade laughed indulgently. 350 00:19:32.839 --> 00:19:36.920 You have no doubt already formed your conclusions from the newspapers, 351 00:19:36.960 --> 00:19:40.440 he said. The case is as plain as a pikestaff, 352 00:19:40.640 --> 00:19:43.839 and the more one goes into it, the plainer it becomes. Still. 353 00:19:43.880 --> 00:19:46.079 Of course, one can't refuse a lady in such a 354 00:19:46.160 --> 00:19:48.839 very positive one too. She has heard of you and 355 00:19:48.880 --> 00:19:51.960 would have your opinion, though I repeatedly told her that 356 00:19:52.000 --> 00:19:54.240 there was nothing which you could do which I had 357 00:19:54.279 --> 00:19:56.720 not already done. Why, bless my soul, here is her 358 00:19:56.759 --> 00:20:00.200 carriage at the door. He had hardly spoken before there 359 00:20:00.279 --> 00:20:02.400 rushed into the room one of the most lovely young 360 00:20:02.440 --> 00:20:04.680 women that I have ever seen in my life, her 361 00:20:04.759 --> 00:20:07.559 violet eyes shining, her lips parted a pink flush upon 362 00:20:07.559 --> 00:20:10.599 her cheeks, all thought of her natural reserve lost in 363 00:20:10.680 --> 00:20:16.319 her overpowering excitement and concern. Oh, mister Sherlock Holmes, she cried, 364 00:20:16.920 --> 00:20:19.519 glancing from one to the other of us, and finally, 365 00:20:19.559 --> 00:20:23.240 with a woman's quick intuition, fastening upon my companion. I 366 00:20:23.279 --> 00:20:25.559 am so glad that you have come. I have driven 367 00:20:25.559 --> 00:20:28.440 down to tell you so. I know that James didn't 368 00:20:28.480 --> 00:20:30.400 do it. I know it, and I want you to 369 00:20:30.440 --> 00:20:33.480 start upon your work knowing it too. Never let yourself 370 00:20:33.519 --> 00:20:35.920 doubt upon that point. We have known each other since 371 00:20:35.920 --> 00:20:38.599 we were little children, and I know his faults as 372 00:20:38.640 --> 00:20:41.079 no one else does. But he is too tender hearted 373 00:20:41.119 --> 00:20:44.200 to her to fly. Such a charge is absurd to 374 00:20:44.240 --> 00:20:47.279 any one who really knows him. I hope we may 375 00:20:47.279 --> 00:20:50.559 clear him, Miss Turner, said Sherlock Holmes. You may rely 376 00:20:50.680 --> 00:20:53.599 upon my doing all that I can, but you have 377 00:20:53.720 --> 00:20:57.559 read the evidence. You have formed some conclusion. Do you 378 00:20:57.640 --> 00:21:01.079 not see some loophole, some flaw? Do you not yourself 379 00:21:01.160 --> 00:21:04.359 think that he is innocent? I think that it is 380 00:21:04.559 --> 00:21:08.680 very probable. There now, she cried, throwing back her head 381 00:21:08.680 --> 00:21:12.359 and looking defiantly at lestrade you hear he gives me hopes. 382 00:21:13.279 --> 00:21:17.440 Lestrade shrugged his shoulders. I am afraid that my colleague 383 00:21:17.440 --> 00:21:21.039 has been a little quick informing his conclusions, he said. 384 00:21:22.279 --> 00:21:25.279 But he is right. Oh, I know that he is right. 385 00:21:25.440 --> 00:21:28.359 James never did it. And about his quarrel with his father, 386 00:21:28.440 --> 00:21:30.240 I am sure that the reason why he would not 387 00:21:30.319 --> 00:21:32.839 speak about it to the coroner is because I was 388 00:21:32.880 --> 00:21:37.440 concerned in it. In what way? Asked Holmes. It is 389 00:21:37.480 --> 00:21:40.319 no time for me to hide anything. James and his 390 00:21:40.400 --> 00:21:43.880 father had many disagreements about me. Mister McCarthy was very 391 00:21:43.880 --> 00:21:47.200 anxious that there should be a marriage between us. James 392 00:21:47.200 --> 00:21:49.519 and I have always left each other as brother and sister. 393 00:21:50.200 --> 00:21:52.079 But of course he is young and has seen very 394 00:21:52.119 --> 00:21:56.519 little of life yet, and and well, naturally he did 395 00:21:56.519 --> 00:21:58.799 not wish to do anything like that yet. So there 396 00:21:58.799 --> 00:22:01.119 were quarrels, and this, I am sure was one of them. 397 00:22:02.440 --> 00:22:05.839 And your father, asked Holmes, was he in favor of 398 00:22:05.880 --> 00:22:09.400 such a union? No, he was averse to it. Also, 399 00:22:09.839 --> 00:22:11.960 No one but mister McCarthy was in favor of it. 400 00:22:12.759 --> 00:22:15.119 A quick blush passed over her fresh young face as 401 00:22:15.119 --> 00:22:17.759